I like it!

If I was going to pay for a water color of my home (and I can only imagine doing this if I was moving), I would want to pay for an actual water color of my home done by an artist. Not a digitally rendered one. We had a local artist do a water color of our dogs for less than $200 and so I cannot imagine paying of a digital rendering when the "real thing" is affordable.

Many realtors in my town used to do this for all their buyers/sellers. It was. GIFT at the end of the transaction, but they were actual water colors of the house (usually the one they were selling).

So far it's 2-1 against with some very convincing arguments against. Maybe I need to drop the concept or rethink it entirely. By the way, if anyone has any type of art in mind that they wish they had on their wall but can't find anywhere, please let me know.

I think it all depends on your price point. As @beaglesdoitbetter mentioned, it seems like a real watercolor is probably less than $200 (but likely more than 100). Maybe if the price point was 30-50 bucks it would find some appeal with a certain market segment?

I think the price and quality will be keys to success. When advertising would include many examples of finished work. Offering jpeg or final print would be a nice option.

Aren't there readily available computer programs that take a photo and make it look like a painting? 5 free apps to turn your photo into art

@Andyman Yes, I was thinking about a $30-$50 price point for the printable digital file but I haven't nailed down a market segment/ target audience who would love to buy this.

The GIFT of the house painting was paid for by a realtor so there is apparently some market for it.

I would like one of my old house. It would be more desirable to me if you printed it on canvas and framed it for me so I wouldn't have to go through the hassle. I like the idea of your service because I would not have to search for a painter and it would be easy for you to digitally adjust the picture.

I would survey real estate agents in your area to see if there is a market for this.

@Olychick Yes, there are free apps, but I believe those apps tend to put the photo through a one-size-fits-all filter and there isn't always an easy way to make additional edits or print a high quality end product. Even if the apps were perfect not everyone wants to DIY. Many can't even find their way past the basic functions on their smartphones. Good point though.

I have used Waterlogue on some of my photos and gotten decent results. A lot of people are using apps that turn photos into watercolors. I would either make one myself or pay someone to do a real watercolor, but I wouldn't pay anyone to produce a digital watercolor. I can do that myself.

I have to agree. Not free programs, but there are plenty that are good and easy to use and less than you would probably want to charge for a print.

DAP for windows, for instance.

Even the most basic ones can do some nice effects.

Here's the listing pic of the gate of a house I looked at:

and two quick treatments done with at $10 pushbutton kind of mac app called Auto Painter Express:

I can imagine this as a Groupon offering.

Why don't you try joining Etsy and see what the traffic will bear. At least they have a clientele base which is essential to success and hard to develop on your own.

@d_gw Thank you for your valuable feedback and idea about validating the idea with real estate agents. It makes sense that some homeowners are nostalgic about their former homes, so this art might fill an actual need after all. I did some quick research and the canvas/frames alone would boost the total cost towards the $200-$300 range plus or minus depending upon canvas size, so your angle would make it a premium service meant only for those willing and able to pay.

I also meant to mention high quality paper in my post. I imagine that would reduce your expense versus using canvas. Then you could use off the rack frames and mats from a craft store.

My printer is not great and it would not be cost effective for me to buy a package of good paper for one print. I don't know. Maybe most people already have great printers and fancy paper.

@writersblock My feeling is that the second Auto Painter treatment looks much better than that particular watercolor effect. A cool watercolor manipulation I saw recently had all sorts of nice extra effects, like yellow/orange colors added inside the home's windows to give an appearance of light coming from the house. Correct me if I am wrong, but the latter is not something a typical app can do.

@d_gw I bet most people don't have high quality printing paper at home. My concept for the printing on canvas was not to print and assemble myself but to work with Zazzle or other trusted 3rd party vendor who specializes in high quality printing and delivery. High quality paper alone is not so expensive, but sadly adding any type of frame tends to significantly boost the cost/ price, making the latter concept a premium service only.

Considering I can already use waterlogue to turn pictures into water colors, I'd probably not pay for the service.

There are people who would not feel comfortable using an app themselves. For example my mom; she would never even think to look and I can see her enjoying something like this. She lives her home, many good memories. However I think she would want this printed for her as well. Your challenge would be getting this product to the right clientele, but I do think there is a market.

I agree with those saying there is an app for that...

@jill302 Very interesting. This makes me think that the non-techie segment of the baby boomer market might be right for this. In regards to printing, do you think she'd prefer it printed and delivered to her on high quality paper for a lower/mid price point ($50-$100) where she'd need to get it framed herself (I doubt she'd just tape it up on the wall with no frame) or would she want be willing to pay a premium for a framed canvas ($200-$300) to arrive at her doorstep? And do you mean that she loves her current home or her former one?

I took a picture of my inlaws old home, used an app to make it a watercolor, had it printed by a camera shop on textured paper, and slapped it into a frame for less than $20.

I think the oldsters who couldn't use an app, or don't have a child/grandchild to do it for them, would not be willing to pay $$$ for it. I think a realtor wouldn't spend $$$ of their commission for a client gift that could be done for $20.

How will you get your product in front of jill302's Mom and her contemporaries? If they're not comfortable with apps they might not be online. What will your advertising costs be get your product noticed?

@hhireno Good points and questions. I think there's a decent chunk of "Luddites" who use the net to surf and dabble on Facebook but don't use apps and feel rather lost on the smartphone (or don't have one at all). In fact, there is even a "how to use the advanced features of your smartphone" workshop where I live, proving that not everybody finds it easy. (Even as an Android user, I dislike navigating the iPhone.) Whether anyone would pay three figures ($$$) for the service with a quality frame/ canvas delivered to their door remains unknown. You could be right. That said, based on the feedback here I am a bit more confident that a segment would pay two figures ($$) for the service printed on high quality paper. I will have to look into social media ad costs but profitability could be problematic if the retail price is at the mid or lower end of the $$ range. EDIT: I'm talking about a tailored service with the ability to request revisions and customizations rather than just applying an app meant for the average photo.

Anyone can do it with the Waterlogue app. I have found, however, that the size 4 x 6 (standard photo size) is the best size to use -- bigger it doesn't turn out as well (at least in Waterlogue). I'm a member of the garden club and the last two tours, we took pics of the gardens, used the Waterlogue app, matted and framed them and gave them to the garden owners as a thank you -- Our cost - $.29 for picture, $1.50 for mat, $3.00 for frame. Here is one of the gardens.

Oh and matted and framed EVERYONE (garden owners and garden club members) thought it was a real watercolor!

Thanks everyone for your valuable thoughts and feedback! In summary, I think many of us agree that do-it-yourself "watercoloring" with apps is an increasingly popular and affordable way of getting close (more or less) to the result proposed in the service. Even though not everyone wants to do-it-themselves or is savvy with their phones, it seems like my idea would be an uphill battle to acquire customers who would be willing and able to pay for a digitized done-for-you service. Other than dropping the idea or pricing unprofitably low, the only way I see to possibly compete with the apps is to offer an old fashioned watercoloring or oil painting service to a very specific type of non-technical nostalgic customer at a $$$ price. At a high price point, advertising becomes more sensible. That said, even the demand for regular painting may fall by the wayside as app usage increases.

i like this

All the apps mentioned don't produce ANYTHING like what the OP posted. I don't agree there's an app for that but I would check Etsy to see if there are artists already offering this service.

The watercolor apps already corralled a market for you - those who have tried the apps and got frustrated with the tech and/or were disappointed with the results. Or, those who go the app route because there isn't a online option readily available that's better.

IMO, you don't have to spend a lot of time on the warm and fuzzy stuff. The being listened too - needs and revisions and blah, blah, blah. Because two reasons. One, you will lose money if you go down the revision rat hole - maybe offer one for free. Two, you're either the watercolor boss who can produce images head and shoulders above the apps or you're not. IMHO the apps have set a pretty low bar for quality, this shouldn't be hard.

Nobody get mad at me because I don't love the apps. If you love what they do and they make you happy, then I'm happy for you and love that you love them. :)

I love the OP 's example art. However, once I get back to having more free time once i move, this is the sort of thing I want to get back into for myself, to hang on my own walls. My house, or other of my own photos, played with for personal relaxation. (No, not with apps, but regular software.)

The OP's example looks much nicer than the others posted. So, clearly, the quality is better. That said, in order to market yourself you would need to explain why you are better than the traditional DIY apps out there. One example is the apps limit you in size of the picture.

AS mentioned, you have nothing to lose by joining Etsy. Also, why are you only doing house pictures? That to me would really limit your business and probably not make it worthwhile.

I have a friend who does water colors for people of their children on the beach. The painting is always a wide view, with the child's back to the artist so she doesn't have to worry about facial features. They paintings are very charming. I think that would be easy to do with your application. It just brings us back to the issue of finding the market.

@Lori A. Sawaya Fascinating analysis! Thank you. I wonder how many people really are disappointed with their app experience. Also, you make a great point about the need to be "head and shoulders" above the apps as the clear cut reason to buy. Your point about the need to avoid revisions and "woo woo" communication is appreciated as well.

@eld6161 Interesting point about the app limitations. I should find out more about app technical drawbacks. The idea of house pictures was to specialize in only one end product rather than be all over the place. What else do people love in watercolor? Their cats?

The question is not so much is the OP version better (of course it is), but rather is it sufficiently better to cause people to pay enough for it? I would look at the number of folks on Etsy who offer hand-painted watercolors of your house, dog, cat, etc. There are a lot of them and not expensive at all for the service they offer.

You may as well face it: art is like many other things these days. There are a great many people underselling themselves who are very easy to reach, which makes competing much, much harder.

I'm a much better writer than the folks who will do a project for 3¢ a word, but do most people care? Nah.

@writersblock I think specializing is the key to break out of the commodity market. For example, being the best watercolor elephant portrait artist for baby rooms sets one apart and might be profitable if there's existing demand for watercolor elephants. For writers, being a proven salesletter writer for a specific industry is more valuable and easier to set oneself apart than a generalist content writer.

In response to the question. My mom probably would not pay over $50 - $75 unframed. She is the type who would prefer to frame herself. She does have children and grandchildren who could easily do an app watercolor for her, but she would never even think to ask about or look into an app. But maybe she is in the minority. She does do some minor internet shopping but you would be more likely to have her order this print at a local event; such as the Assistance League Annual Boutique or a garden tour. My mother-in-law is the same type of buyer, I just don't see her having any interest in a house watercolor, just not her style. Thinking about this further while you do have a group that will buy these printed, the cost and time involved getting this product in front of them may not make this a worthwhile full-time business.

Do agree with others to give Etsy a try. Best of luck to you in this venture.

Definitely give the market a try! Just don't sink everything into it...

You could also look into donating one of pictures to local charity or private school silent auctions. You usually can set up a nice display of your work with business cards. You won't make any $ but it will be nice exposure.

Good point about the water colorists on Etsy. However, they would be copying a picture of your dog or cat and may or may not capture the essence of your animal.

The exact photo would.

Who would love an artist to come to their home and create the actual art work on premise?

Docu, I understand you wanting to create a niche, but I don't think you will get enough business just doing pictures of homes.

You could also offer a deal to RE agencies in your area, not just for prints, but a box of note cards with a watercolor of the house would be a very nice housewarming gift.

Also, you might consider photographing architectural details and doing those as watercolors for fine art prints through a site like minted.com.

Sophie Wheeler's post is interesting. My aunt used to travel in an RV for a regular route of specific animal shows. She did colored chalk portraits of breeders' dogs and cats, and was very good at it. She'd start a basic portrait on site and finish it up at home, mailing it to each client. Over the course of the 2-3 days the show was open, she usually had at least 4-6 commissions for work.

It didn't take her long to get a very good rep (she was a good businesswoman, always meeting her deadlines and very sociable by nature). After a short while she received a regular flow of commissions for portraits of kids, grandkids, etc., as well as pets.

She started having to limit her business because she really only wanted to do it part-time.

I have to say that the OP's product might be interesting to an older market (my MIL would have loved it), but I can't see any of our Millennial friends being interested in the slightest. They enjoy their homes, but their artistic tastes wouldn't extend to a photo or painting (real or simulated) of it.

Putting on my thinking cap. How about water colors of people's vacation photos?

We just back from Sedona and some of our photos would be good candidates for your business.

@Sophie Wheeler Great point about the pets vs. ugly houses!

@jakkom Thanks for telling about your aunt. It's encouraging to hear that she was able to grow a client base by getting a foot in the door with pets and then branching out to family portraits. I agree with you about the generational issue. Maybe millennials would be thrilled with extra large selfies of themselves in watercolors. ;-)

@eld6161 I like that idea! Before I decide to focus on vacation photos, I would need to think how to reach people like yourself on a consistent basis (and find out if they'd be OK with digital versions). This might be a seasonal business, since most people who travel tend to do it in the summer. I should poke around on travel forums too. Will let you know if I go this path, so thanks again!

Just a warning about the vacay pics. I can tell you that you will mostly get stuff like out-the-plane-window pics that you will have the devil of a time doing anything with. Be prepared for those to take many, many more hours than even the worst listing photo would.

ETA I don't do watercolors or artistic stuff, but I get asked to fix photos for people all the time. This one came in last week. Actual pixels, original (no weird filters on it). Guy wants to be able to get a 24" print out of a 958 px image that looks like this when you zoom in:

I told him it would probably be cheaper to find a kid with a drone to retake another image from the same vantage point.

The point being that there's a huge difference between what you will get from people who are taking a photo specifically for the purpose of having it turned into art vs random vacation pics.

@writersblock Very valuable advice and a warning worth considering! Sometimes people have unrealistic expectations. From what I read here (https://iphonephotographyschool.com/print-iphone-photos/), even the latest iPhones can't produce a great looking 24" print! I was unaware of this. I'm still wondering how that guy shot a 958 px photo. Did he use an ancient digital camera or play with his phone's photo settings to save space?

Oops, sorry, it was a 958Kb file, not 958 px. But that's still not much data for an image that size. I actually thought it was an old photo taken back in the early days of digital that had sentimental value.

You could have knocked me down with a feather when I saw iPhone 7 Plus as the camera. I don't know how the image got so compressed. I'm hoping it was because of how he sent it (ATT likes to squoosh images that aren't zipped), but I fear he may have set the camera to the lowest possible quality setting to save space. The white balance is really weird, too, for some reason, and of course it's in a gradient kind of way.

But between that and the dirty plane window and the camera shake from the vibrations of the plane, I think the only way to do it is to do what I can, print it really small, scan the print at a high res, edit the scan, print it a bit larger, etc.